Lubricant for textiles and the like



Patented 1.... 12, 1943 LUBRICANT FOR TEXTILES THE LIKE Ivor M. Colbeth,Maplewood, N. .L, assignor to The Baker Castor Oil Company, Jersey.City, N. .L, a corporation of New Jersey No Drawing. Originalapplication July 17., 1940, Serial No. 346,024. Divided and thisapplication February 4, 1941, Serial No. 377,401

- Claims. (01. 252-843) This invention relates to the production of11-12 or 12-13 oleic glycerides, or a mixture of them. The resultingproduct possesses a high degree of purity. It is particularly useful asa softening agent or lubricant for textile products, although its use isnot limited to this particular purpose. Reference is made to my Patent2,225,552, where a procedure is described by which a ratherheterogeneous mixture of products is produced. By the present inventiona synthetic glyceride is produced which is almost chemically pure and isparticularly useful as a lubricant for textiles and'the like. This is adivision of my application Serial No. 346,024, filed July 17, 1940.

Heretofore objections and difficulties have been encountered whendifferent sorts of oils have been used as lubricants for textiles. Amongthe objections that have arisen havebeenfthe development of rancidity inthe oils or discoloration of the textiles by the oil or both. Some ofthe oils that have-been used for this purpose are diflicult to remove,some are quite expensive and some do not possess the desired lubricatingproperties. 7

Olive oil has heretofore .proven to be one of the most satisfactory oilsfor lubricating textiles as it possesses great lubricating power whichenables the fibers that are lubricated with it to slide over each otherquite easily, and at the same time its viscosity, specific gravity andiodine value are such as to make it suitable for this purpose.

However, olive oil is not entirely satisfactory as a textile lubricant.Some of the objections to it are: it is not colorless as it containsiron and chlorphyl so that there is a tendency to stain the fabric,especially white fabrics; it possesses a noticeable odor that is notpleasing to everyone so that the use is objectionable where the odor isoffensive; and the source of supply of olive oil is largely in foreigncountries and the price thereof varies considerably from time to time.

Castor oil has also been used as a lubricant for textiles but is notentirely satisfactory for this, purpose because it will become ranciddue to oxidation that forms by-products such as i oil, and at the sametime it does not become rancid, it is light in color or practicallywater white and does not become yellow with age so that it will notstain fabrics, it is free from ingredients that form crystals or hardparticles 5 at lowered temperatures, it does not become oxidized attemperatures considerably above room temperature even in the presence ofmoisture, and it can be cheaply manufactured.

The lubricating oil for textiles produced by the present invention isliquid at approximately 26 C. It gradually, solidifies below thistemperature The specific gravity,

into a soft lard-like mass. and iodine value are approximately thoseofolive oil, and at the same time this oil does not 15 become rancid. Itis light in color or practically oil for use in the oiling tr wool.

In carrying out this invention castor oil is first hydrogenated in thepresence of a hydrogenating catalyst at such a temperature and pressureas to preserve intact the hydroxyl groups in the ricinoleic acidradicals of the oil.

This temperature is in the neighborhood of 285 C., and palladium hasbeen found to be one of the best catalysts to effect this sort ofhydrogenation. The temperature to be used can be easily determined bymaking tests and examining the hydroxyl value of the products. It is tobe clearly understood that no stearic acid is desired as a result of thehydrogenation, and therefore every precaution should be taken to keepthe reaction conditions such as. to avoid the conversion of ricinoleicacid radicals into stearic acid radicals. It has usually been found'thatwith temperatures above 285 C- hydrogenation takes place with theformation of stearic acid 40 radicals, and with lower temperatures verylittle hydrogenation takes place. Increased pressures speed up thereaction and may be as high as 1 5 or 20 atmospheres. Q After thehydrogenation step the resulting product is freed from the catalyst byfiltering. -It

is a wax which melts at approximately 76 to 80 C. At this stage theproduct is colorless.

when molten and is pure white in solid form.

The next step in the process consists in removing the hydroxyl groupthat is present on each hydroxy stearic acid radical of the glyceride.Since this hydroxy group is located on the 12th carbon atom, its removalby dehydroxyl ation will result in an oleic acid radical having thedouble bond between the 11th and 12th carbon atoms or between the 12thand 13th carbon atoms. The hydroxyl connected to the 12th carbon atomand a hydrogen atom connected to an adjacent carbon atom are removed.Since 00 the reaction cannot be controlled to such a degree of accuracythat one form of the oleic acid glyceride is produced to the exclusionof the other, there is always present a mixture of the two sorts ofoleic acid radical. The proportion of these two oleic acid radicalsdepends to some extent upon the catalyst used and the temperature ordehydroxylation as well as the pressure.

A convenient procedure to use in dehydrating the hydroxy stearic acidradicals by removing a hydroxyl group and a hydrogen atom is to melthydrogenated castor oil and pump it into a stainless steel tank. Thetemperature is then raised very rapidly in about an hour by means ofelectrical heaters, for example, to about 260 C. A dehydroxylatingcatalyst such as sulphuric acid, sodium acid sulphate, phosphoric acid,or B203, for example, dissolved in water so as to form a clear solutionis then slowly added as a catalyst to the molten material, preferablywhile a vacuum of from mm. to 4 mm. is maintained, although maintenanceof a vacuum is not absolutely necessary. The higher the vacuum thebetter is the color of the resulting product, and

.the moi'imapidly the reaction is brought to com- Rifetiominiiheaddition of the catalyst is continued lllitll the iodine value of theproduct-has reachedrapproximately 75 to 85, or about the same as theoriginal castor oil. The batch is then cooled to about 100 C. andfiltered with the aid of fuller's earth, absorbent charcoal, etc. It isdesirable to eflfect the cooling of the finished batch in a reasonablyshort time, because better control of the color can be obtained therebyand polymerization and other side reactions are greatly decreased oravoided.

The product produced by this invention appears to be a nearly purechemical compound due to the fact that dehydroxylation is effected witha compound that has only one double bond in each acid radical, so thatuncertainty of what the dehydroxylated compound is is avoided ascompared to the uncertainty of what the final compound is when compoundshaving more than one double bond are dehydroxylated.

The dehydrated hydrogenated product produced in accordance with thisinvention is oi a light color and contains only a small amount ofstearic acid, if any, but due to the higher melting point oi 11-12 and12-13 oleic acid glyceride it is liquid above 26 C. and will slowly setto a lard-like consistency at temperatures below 26 C. The mass,however, never solidifies into a hard wax-like solid, but can be easilyliquefied, and may even be pumped at temperatures below 26 C. withoutgreat difllculty.

Due to the elimination of the hydroxyl in this product, oxidationproducts thereof do not have a strong rancid odor as it the case withcastor oil. Even if this product should be come oxidized, the productsof oxidation are stable and tree from odor due to the fact that ahydrocarbon, which is odorless, is split oil instead of an aldehyde,which has an unpleasant odor. This aproduct, therefore, makes possiblethe use of a castor oil product in the wool industry as it does notbecome rancid andis free from objectionable odors which wool wouldabsorb.

Another one or the uses to which this product may be put is as the basicmaterial for sulphonation to produce .sulpho-oleates or sodium salts ofsulphonic acids. In this condition the product dissolves very readily inwater and is stable to hard water without the precipitation of calciumsoaps. In general, when it is sulphonated it possesses the properties ofolive oil. The product may b dissolved in mineral oil as a means ofimproving the lubricating qualities of mineral oil. Due to itsresistance to oxidation and polymerization it may then be used as atextile lubricant, as it will not cause gumming of metal parts throughwhich yarn passes, or of any machinery on which the product is used.

Another use of this product is for the preparation of an emulsion inwater. An emulsion can be made by mixing the product with water andadding enough borax to form an emulsion. The proportions of this productand borax will vary, depending upon the use to which it is put. Theborax causes partial saponiflcation of the oil to take place, and thesubsequent emulsification of the unsaponified oil is efiected by thesoap that is present in the mixture. In this condition it can be used tooil wool in the usual manner without danger of spontaneous combustionoccurring when the yarn .5 dry. It can be easily removed from fabric bywashing in hot water, and acts in some measure as a detergent.

About percent of castor oil consists of the glyceride of ricinoleic acidwhich has one double bond between the 9th and 10th carbon atoms and ahydroxyl group connected to the 12th carbon atom. The hydrogenation stepdescribed above saturates the' double bond between the 9th and 10thcarbon atoms, and, when the hydrogenation is properly carried out. verylittle ifjany of the hydroxy groups are removed; The "subsequentdehydratmnstep removes the hydroxy groups and an adjacent hydrogen atomattached either to the 11th or'l3th carbon atom in- -the chain. Thisenables aglyceride of rather uniform com position to be 4*prod1'1ced.Usually there is'not more than about 15;;to 17 percent of stearic acidformed which :is "not an :excessive famount. Whenever the presence ofstearic acid is objectionable it can be removed by cold filtration andfractional crystallization. f 1

What is claimed is:

l. A lubricant for textiles and the like, comprising a synthetic oleicglyceride substantially free from hydroxyl groups and havingsubstantially all double bonds connected to the 12th carbon atoms inthe'oleic radicals.

2. A lubricant for'textiles and the like, comprising a synthetic oleicglyceride substantially free from hydroxyl groups and having substan.tially all double bonds connected to the 12th carbon atoms in the oleicradicals, said lubricant having a melting point of about 26 C. r

3. A lubricant for textiles and the like, comprising a synthetic oleicglyceride substantially free from hydroxyl groups and havingsubstantially all double bonds connected to the 12th carbon atoms in theoleic radicals, said lubricant having a, melting point of about 26 C.and gradually solidifying below this temperature into a soft lard-likemass.

4. A lubricant for textiles and the like, comprising a synthetic oleicglyceride substantially free from hydroxyl groups and havingsubstantially all double bonds connected to the 12th carbon atoms in theoleic radicals, said lubricant being soluble in mineral oil.

5. A lubricant for textiles and the like, comprising a synthetic oleicglyceride substantially free from hydroxyl groups and havingsubstantially all double bonds connected to the 12th carbon atoms in theoleic radicals, said lubricant being resistant to oxidation andpolymerization.

